Train pipe coupler support



.lune 30, 1931. E. o. HERMANN TRAIN PIPE COUPLER SUPPORT 3 Sheets-Sheet l UIMMIl t .INI/ENTOR.

@Amina/WM ATTORNEYS.

infinitif/Ill,

June 30, 1931. E. o. HERMANN 1,812,048

' TRAIN PIPE COUPLER SUPPORT Filed sep't. i2, 192e :s sheets-sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. Maand.

BY 18 58' 2 I ATTORNEYS. v-

f June 30, 1931. E. o. HERMANN TRAINl PIPE COUPLER SUPPORT Filed Sept. 12,'1928 INVEN'TOR. www (zum/mm;

new A TTORNEYS'.A

m m m u Patented June 19311,.l

A EDWARD o. .riEivivrANiv,y oidl MiLLvALLEKYVg ALIFORNIA, ,AssIGNZOR' To OOBBOONOTOR coiviraivv, or .LosAireriilims,V CALIFORNIA, A conromi'rioivior ,iinrzoiwi` j VII."B,AI1\'IIrren'"courrier,snifroitnvr Y i' 1,Applicationgjle'diSeptember'l2, 19.28. Serial v1\To.i!l3(i)5,f162,

present invention relates,broadly"tol Y a support for! train pipe couplersA` and more lili particularly to a' support foi" traine' pipe4 couplers of thek typecontemplatedr by my co;

pending application for Letters Patent, Serial Number 305,461'ile'd' September' 12,Y 1928.

object'of my invention is to? provide` a 'p novel form roir' support.for train pipe couplers which will permit asubstantiallyvuni-'K vers movement off the'. "coupler` head;

A furthervobject o'f'niy invention ismto provide ina support of the character conteni-y plate'dp-by my invention a centering means' l 'strength'required, butin addition will perwhich will' maintain `the supported coupler' lcentrally Ofjtlie Vca r whendisconnected's l thatwhen lapproaching head, 'it will align therewith.

i other ,Objects and advantages of my iinvention will appear hereinafter-fas the. dee Asc'ription, taken in "connection vvithjtlie''aclk A'conip'anying drawings, proceeds.

Fora better understanding of Y tion, reference should be had'to thev accomunderstood "that, in adapting thefsameto -meet' the vmany conditions 'that may 'arise,-'" {va'iious changes inth'e*'form,"v designfpro-` panying drawings, /inwhiclrflhave shown' a. preferred embodimentf'of1-myy invention and, "whileI haveshown by way fof illus'- trati'on avery specific structure, it-:isto beV portion, and' -I'ninorr detailsl ofjconstruction maybe 'resorted to'without departing" from the spirit and scope ofmy invention#k y In the drawings; f I :1i Figure 1 is'as'ectional elevationof my improved VVV'c :ou'p'ler Figure '2 "is a front elevationrin fsec'tion taken along line II-IIVO igure i1," y

,port in section,

portV and housing, andy Y l i Figure isa front elevation in seetiontak,-

en jalongfthe' lineVIVl of Figure 1. j

l on I, In `the `lsupportfng. trainrlp'pecoupler`v p 'i heads ofthecli'arac'ter contemplate'dxby'`my' hanger,-j as wil-1 yhereinafter appeal',fA

ajeooperatingcoupler, x y

" In describing any inveiitionvin connection u' v with tlie accompanying drawingsv wherein I y have* shown byway'of'illustrationone emiy fsupport #taken along kthe 'y longitudinal center line thereof,

Figure 3 is a plan view in section',` taken -alonglne IIIQIII Of Figure l, i

Figure 4: is afront elevation yof the"coupler` support' with the projecting end fof the 'sup- Figure .5 is aplan viewfof thefcoupler sup-5f l y Y' l "cradle, saifdlhorizfontally Vmoving cradle and theslidable mounting ofsaid drawbar'sothat the coupler head will be `capable ofasubstan'- f `tiallyunivfersal movement with respect toSapd s invention, ,because of vtheir great weight, it is essential' thatl a' support of corresponding. j strength be provided. vIt is also essential," in. Y

radditionfto providing suilicient strength, to providea support which. will permit amovef `ment of the coupler head with respect` tothe 'support so ,thatv the itwo" cooperating coupler connectioiifwitheachother;' f

struction that. it not only possessesjfthemit orf-` a substantially uniform vi'noveinjentgof 1 theeoupler head withrespectto thefsupporaV bodimentof myiiiventionand wherein like parts are designated by like numeralsshall, 1 in yorder toy simplifyan'rexplanation ftl'iereof, f describe the 'apparatus in connection withthe several vfigures i'i'ithelordernumbered.'EVV i Before going into a detailed description,

provided .with "ai drawbar v14:v which is slidalily A however, l -shall'referwbriely tothe 'several-1 v outstanding'elements ofmy improved hanger. Y

Essentiallygmy invention contemplates `the f provision of'a housingmemberoffsubstan` ,f 1 tially rectangular shape, in :the forward end? S0 owhichfthere vis mounted a vertically imolvl,` able'cra-dle 1l. "This cradlell isf'springsup-,l vported -and "guided by .suitable guides, and p 'piv'otally'mounted upon vertically extending ,A n Apivots cai-ried'by said cradle there is a draw#l i bar supporting member 12'which projectsy f rearwardly'into the housingr 10 where it en-'j-4 gages a secondorhorizontally'inovable cradle f f UA'13.' The-drawbarsupporting member l2 is mounted thereinwith its 'end[projectingout# wardly 'beyond the f housing 110 whereit is'` ljoint movements s .of said ,vert-ically" V moving adapte'd'to support theco'upler head(v this "arrangementj amable yto associateftlie'conj l i By referring now to Figure 1, it will be seen that the housing member 10 would, but for the openings in the top, sides, and bottom thereof, form what might be termed a box. The front end of the housing member 10 is closed by a removable end piece 15 through which the drawbar 111 is adapted to project. a flange 16 along its upper edge and suitable bolts are applied to hold it in place upon the housing. By providing` the flange 16, a very rigid connection between the housing` 10 and plate 15 is obtained, as it places the bolts at this point under a shearing stress. The cradle 11 is shown as mounted upon a pair of springs 17 immediately behind the end piece 15 and between it and a pair of vertically eX- tending spaced guides 13. The guides 13 and the end piece 15 are each provided with suitable raised surfaces 19 and 20, respectively, between which rollers 21 carried by the cradle 11 move. The cradle 11 has a relatively large central opening through which the drawbar supporting member 12 projects and centrally at the top and bottom thereof there is provided a pair of vertically extending aligned pivots or shafts 22 which engage the drawbar support 12 and permit it to pivot freely thereabout. The rear end of the drawbar support 12 projects into the horizontally movable cradle 13 where it engages two oppositely disposed surfaces or cheelrs 23 between which it can slide freely up and down. The cradle 13 is guided in its horizontal movement in a substantially arcuate path by means of radius arms 24 and 25 which resiliectively connect with pivot pins 2G and 27 located in the top and bottom of the housing 10 and in alignment with the pivots 22 carried by the cradle 11. In addition to the radius arms 2&1 and 25 which guide the cradle 13, it is provided with suitable anti-friction rollers 23 which engage raised arcuate tracks 29 formed upon the inner top and bottom surfaces of the housing 1() and hold it against vertical movement. Interposed between the top of the cradle 13 and the top of the drawbar carrier 12 there is provided a spring 30 which is adapted to :sesiliently counterbalance the weight of the drawbar and its attached coupler head so that the latter can move freely up and down when in operation with the cradle 11 as the springs 17 are compressed and extended. l

The spring 30 is seated upon a recessed box 31 formed in the top of the cradle 13 and is held under initial compression by means of an adjustable bolt 32 which carries a spring` engaging head 33. Cooperating with the spring 30 there is also provided concentricaL ly therewith a second spring 311. This spring 34 is somewhat shorter than the spring' 3() and, as a result, comes into play only when the spring 30 has been compressed to a predetermined point. The spring engaging head 33 is shown as contacting with the This front end 15 is provided with y drawbar support 12 within a recess at the rear end thereof and, as a result of the radius arms 211 and 25 guiding the cradle 13 to an arcuate path substantially about the center line of the pivots 22, it will be seen that there is no danger of the spring 30 becoming displaced from between the cradle 13 and the dra-wbar support 1 2. Further reference to this figure of the drawings in connection with a description of the drawbar construction will be made in describing the showing of Figure 3.

By referring to Figure 2 of the drawings, it will ybe seen that the cheeks 23 between which the rear end of the drawbary support 12 projects are arranged on parallel vertically extending walls which. form a rectangular opening` in the cradle 13 within which the support 12 is adapted to move vertically. lt will also be seen that the anti-friction rollers 28, previously referred to, are mounted upon the four corners of this rectangular frame with their axes located radially with respect to the pivot points 22 so that the cradle 13 will move in an arcuate path, as previously described. On the outer walls of the rectangular frame portion of the cradle 13 opposite the cheeks 23, there are also provided similar raised surfaces 46 and interposed between the walls of the housing 10 and these surfaces 4:6 there is provided a pair of onpositely disposed compression springs 47 which operate to maintain the cradle 13 centrally of the housing` 10 under normal conditions. These springs are mounted upon suitable spring seats e8 formed in the sides of the housing 10 and. are maintained under a predetermined initial compression by means of bolts 49 which carry at they ends thereof suitable spring seats 50.

By referring to Figure 3, it will he seen that the sprinsr seats 4,8 are recessed from the outside of the casing and provide a seat for suitable nuts which are threaded upon the bolts 49. From this figure of the drawin it will be seen that the cradle 11y projects horizontally completely across the front end of the housingV 10 and that the springs 17 are arranged at the extreme ends thereof. At the point where the ends of the cradle 11 enthe side walls of the housing 10, webs 51 are provided which form a partial housing for the upper ends of the springs 17 and form a bearing surface for the cradle 11 against the side walls of the housing 10, and arranged adjacent each of the springs 17 and between the raised surfaces19 and 20, the rollers 21 are shown as mounted upon suitable horizontally extending shafts 52 so that the cradle 11 can move freely up and down as corresponding forces are exerted on the coupler head.

ln connection vwith this gure of the drawings, reference should be had to Figure 1, where it will be noted that the drawbar 14 V` avbearing `member 44 Whichisyadapted to.

slide freely Within the support 12. ,QA-similar is held Within the support 1.12' ymeans l of transversely extend-ing pins an'd'BG which engagesuitable'slots 37 in the sides of A the support 12. The pins-35=andj361pass throughr 1 suitable spacing collars 38 land 89 and V`cooperating with these collars 38 'anClBSthere are `provided suitable springs V,4 0- and' 41 Which, in cooperationr With the collars 38 and 391,hold the drawbar vmember 14Wi`thi-nthe support 12 and at the same time permitit to move axiallygas forcesl are exerted thereupon Vin operation. At the outerend of thesupport 12 there is provided a roller 42`Which engages'a. raised face 43 for-ined upon the bottom ofthe; drawbar and attached to the rear' end of. the drawbar there gis. provided bearingmemb-er 45 'is attached to `the'for-` Ward end of the yhousing 12throu'gh lwhichV the` drawbar is adapted to slidefreely.

the ,pins y 35. :andY 36 so gthatftheseg two pins -in conjunction Withthesp-rings 40 and 41i will loperate Jtomaintain the-drawhar in alpredev termined normal position anclatthe-v saine` tin-ie.y permit its lvdispilaceinent axially in 'either direction from this normal-position, Will hereinafter appearv in. describingt'h'e operation ofmy device.v I f' fReferring n'o'W lto/Fngure .4, it Will lbelseen. `that the end plate V15 extendscompletely across the front ofthe housing 10 and has. stitfening Websf55in1mediately behind theV iraised `guide surfaces f sor` that a stitfeningV thereof results; This figure Aof the drawings also4 shovvsv the .large centralopening ,in the front. cover throughwhich the drawbar 1'41 f extends. It also very clearly shows the aman- Vlner of mounting the anti-friction'roller42 and the vbearing whichl cooperate With the dra-Wbar `tov. facilitate a free sliding moves mentthereof Within the support 12., l

By referring to Figure 5', it4 will besseen that the housing 10 has atop surface of considerable area-through :which bolts or yother securing means may Ibe passed for the pur-y struction of thepartieular car` to which the sincel the location and"V arrangeinentfjof such then 1 be transmittedfito the spring 30 which; will' operate'. -'to counterbalancef the Weight-f'- .s'ecuringholeswill vbe determined by the conhousing 10 is secured, Ifhave' omittedshow-` ing any means ofseeuri-ng lthe/same?y thereto. i lThis ,view of. my improved support also very -clearly illustratesgthe, .shape kof the, radins,

, to tipthe rear endl vofthe drawbar upwardlv and the forcessoexertfedwill betransmitli a tedto thejdrawharsupport12 over therol'ler`., 42 and'A through the bearing.,44,andstendfto.`

arms 24.and 25 which operat'eito guide the"k horizontally moving cradle The radius Y arm V24 :visible injthis viewfoffthe drafvvingis f .shown asshaped in Vthe -forrnof afT, so that.

ivvhere.itengagesthe cradlel, itinay besecured: thereto" by/vmeans ofv ytwo l spaced boltsV 56 which` will function@ `hola the radius arms 24 fand-25 at rightfanrgles'to and `ceneA trally of thecradle 13.. l

' rInligure 6 the arrangement and relative k7.,;5

positions of the partscooperatin'g :with the vertically movable cradlef ll are inorefclearf,` ly f shown--than in any, othergure of l,their drawings. From,'anxinspeotionv of thislig-4 ureof thedrawings,` it Will be seen rthat 80. i

the springs 17 are fseatedin the; bottomlofj ther housing 10 upon suitable bosses ifand. held in place byvmeans of bolts-58 ywhich .Y i h carry afsuitable spring seat 59 at their vupper ends.

ing tok thus permitco'mpression 'of the springs 17V and' at their outer ends they "carrysuitf able nuts by means of .Which the springs'17 vmay be placed'under a predetermined initial 99g compression. In this figure ofthe. draWings, Y i theloc'ationfof the anti-friction 1Wheels`y21 isalso very clearly showin'they being" mount-iz. ved upon the shafts 52 which yextend'between?v n i' y f95,.; f These Vvvvfheelsf21 projec tjoutvvarolly;` beyond j l Y' theA sides ofthe'cra'dle llandfengagefasfpre v, `viou'sly described, the raisedrsurfacesjlQ and' v 20 formed yrespectivfe'lyf .uponthe guides! 18 suitable Websformed upon the ifcradle 11.

and the end'platef'l5, the guideslS with theirl rollers or Wheels This'lig'ure 'ofthe4 draw; ings also 'p illustrates theffact vthat fthe'. pivfl ots26gfa'ndf27 are locatedcentrally' of' thev .housing L1() ...and directly/:in alignment' with thepiv'ots122.

,- f u, The operation of my device is as follows:

contemplated by above lreferred to V:cor

bar support, V*the drawbar, and 'the attached substantiallyfin the position shown inv Figuref-1. ,The Weight of thecoupler headat the t endffof the drawbar 14 Willghaveatendencyf- ,Y

causeitlfto tip upWardlyLzlThis' forcewill ofthe attached` coupler head.` ,The initial compression ofl they springs 17y and 30 luider.A `theseconditionswill besuch that they'vv'ill"` n holtlgthedrawbar.supportl2 andthedravvf13e?Y These-bolts `57, are adapted to" 85e.- l y slide freely through the bottom of the. hous 10Q raised surfaces V'119V being blocated rbehindthen bar in the position shown in Figure 1 without any substantial additional compression thereof, and, as a result, the coupler head will be held in its normal position centrally with respect to the car and at a proper height above the rails with the drawbar 141 held outwardly in its normal position by the conjoint action of the springs 40 and 4:1 arranged within the drawbar 14 and its support 12.

It will now be assumed that a coupling is about to be made and the two cooperating coupler heads are about to engage. Under these conditions the coupler heads will engage before the car couplers have engaged and, as a result, the springs l0 and 41 will be put under compression and thus force the two coupler heads into engagement Where they'will be held after the car coupling has been made. If the coupler heads should not be aligned with respect to their height above the rails, the cradle 11 will move up or down, depending upon which of the coupler heads is to be displaced and, should the cooperating coupler heads be out of alignment with respect to the center line of the car, the engaging ends of the coupler heads will be permitted to swing to one side or the other about the pivots 22 and compress one of the centering springs 47, depending` upon to which side the coupler head ismoved.

When the two coupler heads have become fully engaged and energized, they will be securely locked together' and under these conditions the springs 17, 30, 10, and 41 on the cooperating coupler head supports will yield respectively and thus form a support for each of the coupler heads which Will yield to a maximum degree and permit either an easy engagement therewith or a successful operaion thereof after the two heads are couple Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A hanger for train pipe couplers comprising an enclosed housing member adapted to be secured to a car frame, a vertically movable spring supported cradle mounted within said housing member, a horizontally movable spring centered cradle also mounted within said housing, and a drawbar pivotally connected to said vertically movable cradle and projecting into and cooperating with said horizontally movable cradle, whereby substantially universal movement may be imparted to said drawbar with respect to said hanger. j

2. A hanger for train pipe couplers comprising an enclosed housing member adapted to be secured to a car frame, vertically eX- tending guides in the forward part of said housing member, a vertically movable spring supported cradle mounted between said guides, horizontally extending trackways in the rear of said housing member, a horizontally movable spring centered cradle mounted to move upon said trackways, and a drawbar pivotally connected to swing horizontally on said vertically movable cradle and projecting into and cooperating with said horizontally movable cradle, whereby substantially universal movement may be imparted to said drawbar with respect to said hanger.

8. A hanger for train pipe couplers comprising a supporting member adapted to be secured to a car frame, a vertically movable spring supported cradle in the forward part of a housing, a drawbar receptacle secured to said cradle upon vertically extending pivots and projecting rearwardly thereof, a horizontally movable cradle in the rear part of said housing adapted to guide the rearwardly projecting end of said drawbar receptacle, spring means for maintaining said horizontally movable cradle centrally of said housing, a drawbar slidably mounted within said receptacle and adapted to carry a coupler head, and a spring means cooperating with said horizontally movable cradle and engaging the rear end of said rearwardly projecting receptacle adapted to counterbalance the weight of said drawbar and its supported coupler head, whereby the latter may move freely with respect to said hanger to all normal operating positions.

1. in a hanger for train pipe couplers, the combination of a support adapted to be secured to the car frame, a vertically movable cradle mounted upon one end of said support and adapted to carry a drawbar, a pair of parallel vertically extending guides between whichsaid cradle moves, and a roller upon each side of said cradle operating between said guides to prevent longitudinal displacement of said cradle.

5. In a hanger for train pipe couplers, the combination of an enclosed housing, a vertically movable cradle mounted in one end of said housing, a second cradle adapted to move horizontally within the other end of said housing, anti-friction means cooperating with said second cradle and housing to permit a free movement therebetween, and a radius arm having one end pivotally conneet-ed to said housing and in line with the central point of said vertically movable cradle and its other end in fixed relation with said cradle, whereby said horizontally movable cradle will move in an arc with respect to said vertically movable cradle.

6. In a hanger for train pipe couplers, the combination of a support, a vertically movable cradle mounted in one end of said support, a second cradle adapted to move horizontally within the other end of said support, anti-friction means cooperating with said second cradle and support to prevent a free movement therebetween, and a pair of radius arms having one end pivotally Acrmnected to` fk the top and bottom ofisaid ,sirlp'portv in line With the central point of saidvertically mov- Vable'cradle and thefotherends'in iixedyrelation to said cradle,f-whereby ysaid horizonytally movable cradle will movev in an arc with respect to said rvertically.movable cradle.y

7 In a support for train'pipe' coupler 'Y heads, the combination of a drawbarvhaving slots .extending transversely therethrough, n a receptacle into `which said drawbar. may slide having a slot oneach side thereof, mem# bers extending through the slots in said drawbar and said receptacle, and springs cooperating with said members adapted to ,l hold said drawbar ina .predeterminedposition Vand permit its displacement axially in either direction fromsaidnormalpositionl 8. In a support for train pipe coupler 1 heads,r the combinatonof a drawbar having l a pairof oppositely` disposedy slots extendingy transversely therethrough, `a receptaclek into Which said draWbar may slide having a single slot on Veach side thereof, vmembers extending through each pair of slots infs'aid dravvbar and engaging the .slot in said receptaole, a spring within'said drawbar ybetween said ymernbers,.and a spring between the innermost memberrandy theend of saidv 4receptacle adapted tolk cooperate with said rstfspring and said members to hold said draWbar in afpredetermined position yand y,

permit its displaoementaxially in either direction from said: predetermined position. 

